By Ryan Dombal
on June 22, 2010 at 11:30 a.m. EDT

Photo by Elisabeth Vitale

New Jersey's own Titus Andronicus unleash their sprawling suburban blues all over North America this summer. So get ready for big, bleating major chords, and even some goofy dancing. They'll play songs from their recently Best New Music'd, Civil War-themed album The Monitor, including the super-long ones. Neo-classic rockers Free Energy join them on select dates. Titus' full itinerary and a live video can be found below:

By Ryan Dombal
on May 11, 2010 at 5:15 p.m. EDT

Photo by Ryan Dombal

Those Titus Andronicus fans are a dedicated bunch; if zines still existed, the New Jersey band would certainly be common subject. The latest act of devotion from fans of the ambitious punk act is an unofficial collection of demos, B-sides, live tracks, and covers called Feats of Strength. All the material is from the band's pre-Monitor era, so don't expect any civil war soliloquies. But do expect remakes of Weezer's "Say It Ain't So" and the Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner". Download the comp here.

By Tom Breihan
on April 29, 2010 at 10:50 a.m. EDT

Titus Andronicus have been touring their new album The Monitor hard, and they're going to keep doing it. The band has unveiled a fresh round of summer tour dates-- good news, since their live show is a truly rousing and life-affirming spectacle, and there's at least a remote chance you'll get to participate in a gigantic Weezer singalong.

When the band returns from Europe to tour North America in June, they'll expand into an eight-piece, complete with cello, keyboards, and horn players borrowed from tour openers Hallelujah the Hills. Considering that they already did a pretty amazing job conveying the heft and majesty of The Monitor onstage as a quintet, this should be pretty awesome.

By Tom Breihan
on April 16, 2010 at 1:45 p.m. EDT

Last night at the Barbary in Philly, Titus Andronicus covered the deathless Weezer anthem "Undone (The Sweater Song)". Vivian Girls guitarist Cassie Ramone (who opened the show with her side project the Babies) handled lead vocals while trying to keep her sunglasses from falling over her face. Ramone and Titus frontman Patrick Stickles even did their own takes on the between-verse dialogue bits from the song, and Stickles nailed the guitar solo. Not surprisingly, it all turned into a gigantic singalong. No dogs, though, sadly.

The Styrofoam Drone was on hand, and you can watch the ridiculously fun video below. The Styrofoam Drone also has a huge recap of the show, with a ton of video.

By Tom Breihan
on March 29, 2010 at 11:40 a.m. EDT

Rock bands, take note: Your shit will always look way more epic when you're playing outside in the snow. In director Claire Carré's new clip for Titus Andronicus's "A More Perfect Union", the band not only performs outside in a wintery climate; they also play Risk, climb trees, and scream into tape recorders. For some absolutely perplexing reason, the video omits the raging second half of the anthemic opener to new LP The Monitor. The video debuted on MySpace this morning, and you can watch it below.

By Tyler Grisham
on March 21, 2010 at 1:50 p.m. EDT

Photos by Erez Avissar; Above: The Pitchfork SXSW Showcase at the Scoot Inn

What SXSW show could have a shot at topping our awesome Friday bash at Emo's? Why, the first ever official Pitchfork SXSW Showcase, of course. For our first full-on SXSW show, on Saturday night, the Scoot Inn was home to a lineup featuring Titus Andronicus, Sleigh Bells, the Very Best, Bear in Heaven, the Smith Westerns, Here We Go Magic, Freddie Gibbs, and Pictureplane. See a selection of our photographer Erez Avissar's shots after the jump.

Plenty of groups shuttle to as many as five sets a day during SXSW, but Alabama rap duo G-Side had a grand total of one show booked for the whole week: an NPR Music day party, of all things. They made that one show count. Taking the stage to a crowd that knew nothing about them and was mostly just waiting for Surfer Blood, Clova and ST 2 Lettaz started off a bit shaky and tentative. But half an hour in, they had the crowd on their side, and they did it just by rapping good songs really well. G-Side are fierce, animated performers. Like Clipse, they punctuate their punchlines by actually acting them out. And they fill the space between songs with heartfelt talk about working hard-- the same thing they base their songs on.

By Tom Breihan
on February 26, 2010 at 5:55 p.m. EST

On March 9, XL will release The Monitor, the sprawling, blown-out, vaguely Civil-War-themed sophomore album from Jersey rockers Titus Andronicus. And up above, you can download the album's charged-up seven-minute opener "A More Perfect Union". If, after hearing that one, you're not totally convinced about the album, click below to watch the stirring YouTube trailer for it.